For all bar the second quarter Victoria Giants gave it their best shot, but West Sydney Razorbacks shot better to beat the under-manned Giants 107-95 at the Sport and Aquatic Centre.

The Razorbacks connected on 63 per cent of their field-goal attempts and hit 57 per cent of their long-range tries, with a 37-14 second quarter that had scoreboard quality and quantity.

Boomers' hot-shot John Rillie was the best of West Sydney's bombers, his 31 points including 10-14 field-goal attempts that had 8-11 three-pointers and plenty of attitude - he talked up a good game with opponents and, on hitting successive three-pointers, gave good looks to Giants' coach Mark Wright.

The Razorbacks, once NBL road worriers, appear to have become road warriors and their 12-7 overall record includes an 8-4 road record. They have won four in succession, the Giants have lost three on end.

Victoria brought back guards Nathan Crosswell, after a calf strain, and Greg Blake, after a broken wrist. Veteran forward Dave Biwer (hamstring) missed for the second game on end, and centre Ben Pepper succumbed to a toe injury that has hindered him in recent weeks. The Razorbacks, who have no imports, were without promising guard Steven Markovic.

Their coach, Gordon McLeod, described his team's effort in overcoming a 0-11 start as a "really good win".

Wright said the Giants had a good game but "in the second quarter we shot ourselves in the foot" - nine turnovers accompanied the miserable 14-point effort in that term. "You can't be happy with losing (but) I'm certainly satisfied we gave it everything we had," he said. "West Sydney has to shot the ball (at a high percentage) to beat us."

The first term was dominated by Ballinger, who attacked the backboards to grab five offensive boards and score 12 points. With Ballinger and his support cast working hard against a team that still appeared to be digesting its Christmas pudding, the Giants led 27-16 at quarter time.

The second term decided the game, with the Razorbacks outscoring the Giants 37-14 as well as committing no fouls to the Giants' eight. Rillie, on 18, had 11 points for the term.

Victoria slipped 17 behind in the third quarter before it finished the term with an 11-3 run, Crosswell scoring eight of them, to trail 78-69. Rillie remained the back-breaker as his tally entered the 30s.

Darnell Mee guaranteed his 200th NBL game would be a memorable milestone with a match-winning display for the Wollongong Hawks at the Sandpit last night.

The Hawks dug themselves out of a huge hole to score a thrilling 110-101 victory over the Melbourne Tigers and it was Mee who sparked Wollongong back into the game.

Melbourne held the early advantage, leading 31-27 at quarter time, but they blew the Hawks out of the game in the second term.

Andrew Gaze hit a three-point shot midway through the second that put the Tigers up by 20 points, and with their offence in top gear they had the Hawks sensing trouble.

The margin was closed slightly before half-time, but Melbourne's 64-50 advantage ensured a passionate Wollongong dressing room at the break.

The turnaround was stunning as the Hawks' defence went to work on the Tigers, and with just three minutes to go in the third, Mee hit a three-point bomb to close the gap to one, on his way to 10 points for the quarter.

Following Mee's example Ben Knight then hit a basket that put Wollongong in front for the first time since the third minute of the game in sight of the three-quarter-time break. So dominant were the Hawks that they put together an 18-0 run, broken only by a last-minute Tigers basket, for a 33-14 third quarter, giving them an 83-78 lead with a quarter to play.

Melbourne stayed close in the fourth and with under two minutes left the game belonged to anybody. Fittingly Mee put Wollongong out of reach, driving for a spectacular dunk and hitting the subsequent free throw that put Wollongong up 105-99 with 40 seconds to play.

Mee's memorable night consisted of 28 points to go with six rebounds and six assists.

Melbourne's big three assumed their all too customary roles, with Andrew Gaze leading with 27 points followed by Mark Bradtke's 25 and Lanard Copeland's 17.

In Auckland, the Sydney Kings extended their lead at the top of the ladder with a hard-fought 93-83 win over the New Zealand Breakers last night.

Although the Breakers turned an 18-point three-quarter deficit into a six-point difference with eight minutes remaining, the Kings finished with the sort of maturity that has them on top of the ladder with 16 wins from 19 games.

At the Brisbane Convention Centre Brisbane turned on some early razzmatazz during its 124-107 victory over the Hunter Pirates.